Author: staff
The war between the US and Iran has disrupted global energy markets, driven oil and gas prices up and jeopardised supply routes. A key pressure point is the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a major transit route for liquefied natural gas (LNG), which Europe has increasingly relied on since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The EU subsequently took steps to reduce its dependence on Russian fossil fuels, turning instead to alternative suppliers such in the Middle East and accelerating the deployment of renewables. Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for Russia’s foreign ministry, mocked the EU for having to…
Published on 25/03/2026 – 11:36 GMT+1 The US government’s ban on Anthropic appears punitive, following the company’s public dispute with the Pentagon over its refusal to allow unrestricted military use of its Claude AI model. Anthropic made its case before a San Francisco federal court on Tuesday, seeking an injunction against the US government’s decision to blacklist it as a national security risk. The District Judge Rita F. Lin said at the outset of the hearing that “it looks like an attempt to cripple Anthropic,” adding she was concerned the government could be punishing Anthropic for openly criticising the government’s…
Moscow’s defense ministry reported shooting down 389 Ukrainian drones flying over Russia on Wednesday, including at the Ust-Luga port in the Leningrad region, home to one of the country’s major gas plants. This is not the first stray drone to venture into Baltic airspace. A second unmanned aerial vehicle from Russian airspace crashed in Latvia overnight, the country’s defense ministry wrote in a post on X, adding that no one was injured. Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa said an initial investigation suggests the drone was Ukrainian and added she would raise the issue at the Joint Expeditionary Force summit, a…
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed his “disgust” at the “horrific antisemitic attack.” No injuries were reported from the incident and the fires were put out. Nearby houses were evacuated as a precaution. In the statement Wednesday, the Met said they were “mindful” that “CCTV footage of the incident suggests there were at least three people involved.” “Our investigation very much remains active and we will continue to work to identify and seek to arrest all of those who may have been involved,” Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London said.
Hungarian customs authorities had all the necessary documents and had approved Ukraine’s Oschadbank cash and gold transit in advance, before the convoy was stopped and detained by Hungary’s anti-terrorism police, bank employees and officials said. For the first time since the incident on 5 March, a member of the cash-in-transit team revealed more details about what happened that day on the Budapest ring road. Speaking in Kyiv on Tuesday alongside Oschadbank Chairman of the Board Yurii Katsion, Hennadiy Kuznetsov said the trip was prepared and executed in the “routine” way. At the first press conference organised by the state-owned Oschadbank…
European stock markets opened higher on Wednesday, in line with a more optimistic mood in Asia, driven largely by hopes that the US may be engaged in talks with Iran — even as Washington deploys thousands of troops to the Middle East, with no firm decision yet on ground deployment. US President Donald Trump said that progress was being made in talks with Iran this week, and his postponement on Monday of a deadline to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz has also fueled optimism that an end to the Iran war could come…
The EU votes, Eurovision style, to pick a city to host its customs cops. Nine European cities are vying to win a contest on Wednesday to host the planned EU Customs Authority. Staffed by around 250 well-paid EU officials, EUCA will coordinate oversight of imports of everything from sketchy plastic toys to non-compliant cosmetics and illegal drugs. Its new home base has been the target of intense lobbying, with cities from Portugal to Romania bidding. Meeting in Brussels, representatives of national governments and EU lawmakers will separately select their two favorites, and then reveal them to each other. If there’s…
When it comes to Viktor Orbán’s veto, one man stands to lose the most: António Costa. The explosive decision by the Hungarian prime minister to block the €90 billion loan to Ukraine at the very last stage of the process represents the most formidable challenge yet to Costa’s authority and integrity as president of the European Council. The tensions came to a boil during last week’s summit, when leader after leader, including Costa, launched fierce criticism against Orbán for backtracking on the agreement that they had all painstakingly struck in a high-stakes meeting in December. “Nobody can blackmail the European…
Cherry blossom season is bringing a wave of spring color across Europe, with Munich among the cities in focus as streets and parks fill with soft pink blooms, drawing residents and visitors outdoors. In northern Italy, the gardens of the Royal Palace of Venaria near Turin are also in bloom, where rows of cherry trees transform the historic grounds. Inspired by the Japanese tradition of hanami, visitors gather to experience the brief flowering period, which lasts only a few days each year. As evening falls, the atmosphere shifts: soft lighting illuminates the blossoms, intensifying their color and transforming the gardens…
Tens of thousands of people gathered in Buenos Aires’ Plaza de Mayo to mark 50 years since the 1976 military coup that led to years of dictatorship. Demonstrators marched under slogans such as “Memory, Truth and Justice” and “Never again,” carrying photos of victims who were killed or disappeared. The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo led the procession, continuing their decades-long demand for accountability. Participants included families, activists and young people, with performances, music and symbolic acts taking place throughout the rally.